Noticed
by thinkofthewindandsun
Summary: He was always the distraction, never truly seen by anybody. Until the day he picked up a sword and stood his ground, if only to save his friends. Because Kisuke was right about one thing he said to Ichigo: resolve was everything, and in the end, that's all Keigo ever had.


**A/N: Another Keigo one shot, a little darker than the last.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, own the Bleach characters or show.**

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No one ever noticed how easily he got back up after Ichigo decked him.

No one saw the way his eyes would focus on the sky and then refocus again without warning.

No one recognized the grace with which he moved when he was not around his friends.

No one noticed him.

Until the day that they had no choice.

Standing boldly before the man who practically radiated evil, Asano Keigo showed no fear. Left and right allies and acquaintances, strangers and friends fell by the man's minions' hands. Yet he stood silently before the man, a stolen sword held easily in his hand, eyes dark, face serious.

There was someone shouting at him, the sound of pounding feet as they rushed to stop him. But he was not the wimpy little boy they saw him as. In that moment he was every inch of what he had always been deep inside; a proud, strong, and confident man. A warrior in a child's clothing, weapon in hand, eyes hard as steel.

The man across from him was laughing, at the pathetic young thing attempting to defy him, at the little boy who thought a mere sword could save him, at the child who wanted to play with the big boys and always got rejected. There was no doubt that the man thought killing him would be child's play. After all, there was nothing easier than slaying a foolish human child.

Only when the man went to cut him down, his sword striking out swiftly, the boy just grinned - sharp-toothed and fierce - and stepped back out of range. The man snarled angrily, already lunging for another slash. Keigo laughed boldly as the man attacked and attacked, never once touching the boy as he stepped out of range time and again. Slowly leading the man away from the dead and the wounded, away from his friends, away from his plans.

Because even Keigo knew he had always been a distraction. Meant to get his friends to safety and away from the teachers. Only now it was life-or-death safety with a distraction that he _knew_ would cost him much more than a couple of hours after school. Even with his borrowed sword, which he finally used to block the man's own blade once he deemed them a far enough distance to be safe but not have the man notice, he was no match for the man. He was a human after all, frail and breakable.

He fought tooth and nail, ignoring the way blood seeped out of various wounds, getting back onto his feet time and again as the man futilely tried to beat him down. The man was seething, distracted, off-balance, all because of a human child who just _didn't know when to quit_.

And that was who Keigo was. He would go down fighting any day for his friends, so long as they were safe and happy. He would get back up and lunge and parry and dodge if it would buy his friends another minute, if it would save another life. He would spit blood and teeth and grin that feral grin, goad the man on into beating his life from him with all the force he had, if only to keep his friends alive for a little longer.

And when the man raised his sword in a killing blow as Keigo struggled to get up from his knees, and Keigo watched through the bloody mist covering his eyes, he grinned a little wider. There were no final words left for him to say, he being the boy who always said everything that came to mind. Because for once in his chaotic mess of a life he felt at peace, at ease with himself.

And as the spittle and blood stained his shirt and the sword sent a bloody arc spattering into the sky, he laughed.

* * *

Swallowing heavily, Tatsuki stumbled over to the slumped body.

It lay in the middle of a broken up road, surrounded - yet untouched - by debris and rubble. Blood lay pooled around it, sticky and congealed with time. The boy's left shoulder and arm were almost completely severed from his body, his skin was bruised and lacerated beyond endurance, and his right leg was definitely broken. But when she turned him over, so gently and carefully that it _hurt_, his face was frozen into an expression of wild laughter.

Tears streamed down her face as she carefully reached up to close his eyes, sobbing openly as she felt the cold skin beneath her hands.

He was so cold, so lifeless.

And as the sun sank slowly below the horizon, and as her other friends slowly stumbled over and took in the terrible scene, and as the Shinigami who's sword was stolen stared down at the boy in shocked horror -

- an echo of a laugh drifted through the air, and a boy named Asano Keigo was finally, _finally_ noticed.

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**A/N: Okay I think I should start listening to happier music when I write fics about Keigo. For some reason every time I think of an idea for him it ends up all gloomy. But I'm actually really pleased with this, for once. **

** I wanted to add Tatsuki in because I think the two could have a really interesting dynamic if they were to interact more - though more of a brother-sister relationship than anything romantic. I see the two of them bonding over something really trivial, something that makes them both pause and say 'wait, did I actually just connect with him/her', something that could slowly build up.**

** Anyways, I should probably stop ranting now. Hopefully my next fic won't be so... depressing. **


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